‘This could be my last Christmas’: Terminally ill Rohan McQueen’s final light display
In his final moments alive, northern suburbs florist Rohan McQueen wants to spread Christmas joy and the festive spirit through his spectacular light display.
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A northern suburbs man has pulled every light and decoration out of the bag this Christmas to cover his Burton home – but for a heartbreaking reason.
Rohan McQueen was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in January this year and has only 12 months to live.
“This could be my last Christmas … I want to spread joy,” the 37-year-old told The Advertiser.
The florist chose to put on the bright and festive display instead of visiting New York to experience a white Christmas.
“When you receive a diagnosis like mine, you realise what’s important and this is my way of bringing happiness to our area and community,” he said.
“Hopefully people can forget their worries, even if it’s just for a few moments, when they visit our Christmas wonderland.”
Mr McQueen had been experiencing abdominal pain for a few months before his diagnosis but dismissed it.
“I bought a house … I was constantly working … I was in pain, obviously not knowing I had the tumour inside,” he said.
In mid-January he even decided to visit a doctor who he said told him the cause of his pain was likely because he was eating “spicy food”.
On January 29 the pain was too unbearable, leaving Mr McQueen no choice but to rush to the emergency room.
“They (doctors) sent me for a CAT scan and then a couple of hours later they got the results back and they let me know that I had a 15cm tumour in my bowel,” he said.
“Then they had to do an emergency operation the next day because it would’ve caused my bowel to burst.”
Doctors told him the tumour had been growing for at least eight months.
The next day he had an emergency surgery to remove the tumour and 17 lymph nodes but unfortunately the cancer, which is incurable, had already spread to an inoperable part of his spine and lungs.
“I have chemo once a fortnight to stop the cancer from growing but clearly that’s a temporary thing,” he said.
Despite battling an incurable disease, Mr McQueen is set on spending the moments he has spreading festive joy to children and hoping more people visit his display.
“I’ve always loved Christmas and Christmas lights … when I received the diagnosis at the start of this year I knew I had to bring the lights to Adelaide,” he said.
The display, which kicks off at 8pm and continues until 10.30pm daily, features an ever-growing collection of lights, decorations and Christmas-themed installations, all designed to “make people smile”.
“It makes me so happy to see so many people out front each night. Everyone is welcome – we’re at 80 Kensington Way in Burton,” he said.
The Burton man also said to trust your symptoms and advocate for yourself while visiting doctors.
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Originally published as ‘This could be my last Christmas’: Terminally ill Rohan McQueen’s final light display
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